Aare River Gorge
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• A half hour by train from Lungern lies the town of Meiringen. Close by that town is a stunning, mile-long gorge called the Aareschlucht. Here the Aare (or Aar) River has eroded a deep, narrow chasm through limestone, in places only a few yards wide. Clinging to the cliff sides, the walking path through the gorge is also impressive, a path open to the public since 1889:
  

  

  
  Here and there, the canyon opens up enough to admit direct sunlight:
  

  

  This photo shows how the path occasionally cuts into the cliff with “windows” onto the chasm .... and, no, that ladder is not intended for visitors but for maintenance use only! Visitors are expected to stay behind the rail.
  
  Even when the path does not tunnel through the cliffside, overhang can make for a dark and eerie passage:

  

  
  As we continued upstream, the gorge opened up more and we stopped to admire this sunlit waterfall:
  

  

  
  In the photo below, the point beyond which visitors could not pass is visible on the right:
  

  

  (Apparently, Spring maintenance on the rest of the path had not yet been completed.)
  
  Walking to the locked gate and snapping a photo through the canyon shows that we were nearly at the end of it anyway:
  

  

  
  Naturally, we had to document our arrival:
  

  

  
  Safely back in Meiringen, we stopped to chat with the great sleuth, Sherlock himself. Nearby Reichenbach Falls was the setting Sir Arthur Conan Doyle chose for Holmes’ demise when the author tired of writing of his adventures. That decision of Doyle caused such an outcry from Holmes’ fans that, years later, Doyle was forced to capitulate. He had to explain not only Holmes’ survival at Reichenbach Falls but why he wished to be presumed “dead” for years afterwards.